Category: Operate A More Efficient Tax Firm

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is for my recommendation on a good client management/case work management system for working tax resolution cases.

When I started in tax resolution, no such system existed, so I ended up programming my own. That system worked for my needs and the needs of my firm, but it was light years away from being something worthy of releasing to the entire world.

Since then, a couple of companies have sprung up to attempt to fill the void, with varying degrees of success in creating usable tools. I’ve never felt good about recommending either of the existing options, however, for a variety of reasons that I won’t go into here. Oftentimes, I simply end up suggesting that tax resolution professionals use a different non-tax specific platform, like 37Signals, SalesForce.com, or Insight.ly.

However, I was recently introduced to a brand new tax resolution case work management system that I have really taken a liking to. The system is called BeanStalk, and it is built to accomplish one task: Streamline your entire case work process.

BeanStalk is beautiful because it doesn’t try to be all things to all people, like some other software solutions. BeanStalk is all about the case work side of things only — the system picks up where your sales process ends and your client intake process begins.

BeanStalk is built to follow a logical case flow. It has built in client intake processes, and even allows for a secure, client-facing web portal for your clients to enter their 433 information (which saves you staff time and increases efficiency). The system has an awesome built-in financial analysis engine, allowing you to more efficiently determine OIC and CNC eligibility.

Along with the deadline reminders and other case management functions you would expect, BeanStalk provides the ability to automatically fill in all the necessary IRS forms for you when you need them — no more fillable PDF forms!

The system is built to handle cases as efficiently as possible, and the company founder is an experienced tax resolution attorney, so he’s designed the system from a tax professional’s perspective, not a programmer’s point of view.

I know you’re busy with tax season, but I’d really encourage you to check out BeanStalk before April 15th rolls around. Spend some time playing with BeanStalk (they offer a free trial so you can check it out), and I think you’ll … Continue reading

There are only a few hours remaining for you to pre-order the first edition of the Tax Resolution Systems manual. I’m meeting with my local printer at 3pm Pacific today, so I absolutely need a final unit count prior to that.

If you’ve been on the fence about ordering, don’t forget that, after today, the price for this complete set of checklists for running a tax resolution practice will go up to it’s normal price.

Order your copy here –https://taxresolutionacademy.com/systems

If you’ve never used a checklist-based system to do anything in your practice, then you’re in for a high-efficiency injection of organization and systemization into your practice by following checklists.

This manual includes checklists for everything from your lead generation marketing and conducting sales consultations, all the way to actually resolving the tax debt itself. Using checklists like these to establish procedures and routines in how you do things streamlines your entire operation. It sets standards that you can enforce upon your employees. It also makes your practice worth more if you intend to sell it.

You’re always going to want to spend time tweaking and improving systems, and creating new ones for unique situations in your own practice. And most tax professionals intuitively know this. The problem is that it’s such a daunting task to get started, because nothing like the Tax Resolution Systems checklist compendium has ever existed before.

In exchange for this 50% off price, all I ask is for your feedback on the manual itself. If a checklist step doesn’t make sense, or you think of a checklist that should exist but I didn’t think of it, let me know. All users will be mailed an “update packet” in October with any significant additions/revisions.… Continue reading

It’s one of the most critical questions in the tax resolution industry: To accept or not to accept client payment plans for fees.

I’ve written quite a bit about fee structures and payment arrangements, and this morning Danny sent me an email with several questions pertaining this topic:

How many months do you allow someone to pay? What sort of upfront fee do you collect? Do you use an online auto bill to their credit card? Do you have a written agreement and do you file the agreement?

Let me first start with this: I no longer offer payment plans to clients, and I advise other solo practitioners not to, either. My stance is that if a client wants my help, and cannot pay my full fee up front, then that client does not meet my established criteria for my ideal clients. When you are a solo practitioner in particular, you should set fairly strict criteria regarding the clients you will work with. When it’s only you, you should be far less willing to deal with problem clients, and you don’t have to.

Please note that this entire article really applies to those doing flat-fee client work (aka, value billing). If you are billing hourly against a retainer, then most of this will not apply to you, because these tips are sort of built in to the retainer model.

With that said, if you either choose to accept payment plans from clients, or own a larger firm and are going after the volume angle in order to compete on the playing field with the large national firms (which is perfectly OK, of course), then you should set strict guidelines regarding your fee payment arrangements.

First of all, collect as much of the fee up front as possible. Never go for a series of equal payments over time — always insist on the first payment being significantly larger. The reason for this should be obvious: Tax resolution work is heavily front-loaded in terms of your time commitment to the client. It’s not uncommon for half your billable hours on a tax resolution case to occur within the first week of a client hiring you. Collect enough in the initial payment to cover this work.

Second, whatever payment arrangements you do make, automate it. In other words, set up the payments on automatically recurring ACH drafts or credit card drafts, so that you don’t even have … Continue reading